Another Jack B. Quick sketch

Jack B. Quick pencil sketch

Cute but evil...

Jack B. Quick "A Brief Geography of Time", page 6

I didn't know who Spark Watts was when I lettered this page.

Inks for Tom Strong over Alan Weiss

This was a huge, huge thrill for me. After obsessing over Alan's virtuoso rendering for so many years, I finally got a chance to ink his pencils on this short story.  From 2002, "Tom Strong's Terrific Tales" #8, page 5:

Jack B. Quick "The Unbearableness of Being Light", page 5

Not much "drawing" on this page, but working out the best way to show the big block of darkness was a challenge. Since so much of the page would be large areas of solid black, I did a marker rough after I pencilled in the lettering.

Jack B. Quick: "Smalltown Stardom" layout, page 3

Over the weekend I found this layout for page three of the first Jack B. Quick story.  You can see the pencils and inks in an earlier post here.  Panel four was giving me the most trouble at this stage.  Since all of the JBQ stories were done from full scripts and it seemed unlikely that any of the text would be changed, I started out by lettering each page, then I'd work on refining the drawings.  It seems backwards to some people but it really helped me determine how much space I had left after the balloons were added.  The drawings could be moved around but the dialog couldn't.

Jack B. Quick: "Facts of Life" page 4

This page probably doesn't make much sense out of context but it's good for a comparison between pencils and inks/colors.

Jack B. Quick: "Why the Long Face?" page 6

When Alan asked for "the entire Glenn Miller Orchestra" in panel three I nearly had a stroke.  I think Jimmy Palmiotti ended up talking me down from the ledge and pointing out that it wouldn't really be that hard to draw, considering they're all wearing black tuxedoes.  Again, arranging the lettering was the bigger challenge.

Jack B. Quick: "Facts of Life" page 5

A tight fit on this page.  The lettering really directed the layout.

Tomorrow Stories Book One cover sketch

Editor Scott Dünbier suggested putting Splash Brannigan in the back, struggling to be seen – since he was the most recent addition and only had one story in the book.   The diamond motif was Todd Klein's idea.  My colors and seps.

Jack B. Quick: "Smalltown Stardom" pencils and inks, page 4

There were only a few small changes between the pencils and the inks, like the Mayor's hat and the details of the town in the background of the last panel.  The thing I like most about this page is Alan Moore's folksy Rural American dialog.

Jack B. Quick: "I, Robert" page 12

The pencil scan for this page is nowhere to be found but here's a fairly tight layout, followed by the inks.  I like Officer Pete's grotesquely swollen bee-stung face.

Jack B. Quick: "Smalltown Stardom" pencils, page 3

I just realized how much I redrew panel three. Hard to believe I'd draw two complete figures and then erase them for the closer shot but there it is.

You better not be usurpin' the Almighty's divine option again!

Jack B. Quick original art

This page really cracks me up. Poor Teddy.

Since he had to be recognizable from ages 8 to about 48, I gave him a distinct haircut and very recognizable facial features.

I tried to make the scan large enough so that you can see the notes and corrections. I haven't been able to find any copies of the pencils but if they turn up later I'll be sure to post them as well.

I remember struggling with the layout on that last panel. It wasn't an easy action for me to work out but I think it gets the idea across. On the other hand, if I had it to do over, I might not show Jack smiling as he delivers the line. His standard scowl probably would have worked better.

A new Jack B. Quick drawing

The story behind this one is more than a little convoluted and I'm tired so I'll just let the drawing speak for itself. Like I said in a previous note, I've missed Jack.

Update: I made a few small changes in the drawing and added a couple of small shadows in the background that I'd forgotten to fill in.

Jack B. Quick cover art

This was for Mike Manley's swell magazine, DRAW! in 2002.

The idea here was that Jack is just doodling on a piece of paper, but his parents are terrified, knowing that disaster always follows whenever Jack starts coming up with new inventions.

Hellboy and Jack B. Quick

Mike Mignola and I were guests at a terrific convention in Birmingham, England last year and we were asked to do this piece for their program book and charity auction. Mike pencilled the Hellboy figure and sent the board to me so that I could draw Jack and ink the whole thing.

That big empty space in the lower right bothered me so I added another contraption to fill it up.

Most people didn't even realize that I'd inked the Hellboy figure. See, I don't always redraw everything!